There is a respiratory virus, Enterovirus D68 that is moving quickly across the United States affecting young child. It is highly contagious and starts out like a common cold, but lasts much longer. It has affected over 1, 000 children so far and is growing. Children that suffer from Asthma are particularly vulnerable.

SYMPTOMS

Parents and caregivers should monitor their child closely, looking for any difficulty in breathing or speaking , shortness of breath or wheezing. If you are concerned seek immediate attention. The normal cold and flu symptoms like runny nose, coughs, sneezing and fever are present with this virus also.

TREATMENT

Hospitals and doctors are treating this virus with medication that they’ve been using for asthma. In the story I was following all of the children are better and recovering . I was very concerned because some cases were so bad that they had to be admitted to ICU. Some children lost consciousness due to difficulty with breathing.

PREVENTION

This is the time of the year where we should be advising our children and following this procedure ourselves of washing our hands more frequently. Instruct your children to cough or sneeze in their elbow to prevent spreading germs.

Even in my dance classes if someone has a runny nose I instruct them to blow and wipe their nose and then immediately wash their hands before returning back to class. I make sure they put soap on their hands and scrub thoroughly. Drying your hands are also very important, wet hands spread germs also.

Make sure you and your children are getting plenty of rest, eating more fruits and vegetables and drinking a lot more water and fluids. Citrus fruits have a lot of vitamin C and actually all fruits and vegetables are very helpful.

Stay healthy and alert to any warning signs, so you can respond quickly. Take care of yourself and your loved ones. Wishing you a healthy and happy Fall season. Eat plenty of apples since this is a great time for them. Please feel free to share this on social media, your own site and with your family and friends.

This is my wish for everyone including myself, that we all be happy and free. When it comes right down to it, when you get to the heart of the matter being happy and free are two things that we really want. When we are free to be who and what we are whatever that may be we are happy. I would say that we want these two things even more than money. When we are free, to me this means that we are free from worry, fear of being judged or unaccepted and we have freedom of expression, which is very important to me.

Artistic and creative expressions are two things that help me to feel free and happy. Whether I am creating a dance, workshop or a curriculum I am so happy and free. I used to think that artistic expression were things like drawing, or painting and things like that. I have finally come to realize that the real payoff for me is that I create something from nothing and I get to share it and express it. I always hope that it brings value to the people that I share it with whether they are children are adults, and I am very happy when it does.

What makes you feel happy and free. Have you ever thought about it? What makes you feel like you are laying on the beach or at the park lying in the grass or even in your own backyard looking at the clouds as they float by on a beautiful day. Make a promise to yourself that you will set aside time to do this either today or tomorrow. A lot of us have a lot more freedom and happiness in our lives than we realize. It’s time to start acknowledging it and appreciating it. That way we will have more of it. Wishing you a wonderful and amazing day full of happiness and freedom to be.

Please share this post with your family and friends online and off, through social media or word of mouth. I’d also like you to share what makes you feel happy and free in a comment below. Have a great day.:-)

We all know that being germ free is one of the keys to having a healthy life. Have you ever looked at if you are really doing a thorough job of cleaning your hands. It is so important to do a really good job and allowing the proper amount of time and getting all of the areas where germs can possibly live.

One of my readers, Kristin S of http://www.pinterestventure.blogpost.com, commented on a post I had written on teaching kids to get into the habit of washing their hands often and thoroughly to avoid germs. You can read about it here:http://www.pitterpatterfeet.com/childrens-health-start-healthy-habits-early/.

Kristin remembered doing an experiment in college where she and her classmates rubbed simulated germs on their hands and washed them off really well. They then looked at what was left under a black light. She found that there was a ton of germs left up by her wrists and in the fingernail beds.

I was really surprised. I had heard about making sure you clean under and around your nails but had never heard about the wrist area. That was such a new and interesting fact that I decided to write about it. I felt that there were probably a lot more people like me that had never heard of that.

Toni Nelson of http://www.toninelsonmeansbusiness.com mentioned that she had read some studies that were done that showed the amount of germs on door handles. This was something I was familiar with, which is why after you dry your hands with the paper towel you are to use that paper towel to open the door to leave the bathroom.

Speaking of bathrooms Dinaa Dove of http://www.dinadove.com shared that she had heard that toilet seats themselves were some of the most germ free environments. Can you imagine that? When I thought about it again it makes sense. This is because most germs are transmitted through the hands and people’s legs are sitting on the toilet. So I could see how that could be.

Bottom line make sure that you and your children get in the habit of washing the entire hand, fingernail beds and wrists. Also remember to wash for enough time, 2 verses of Happy Birthday should do the trick or if you have preschoolers whatever song they learn in school.

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading this. Please share this with family and friends and please leave a comment below on your experiences with germs and avoiding them and cleaning. Have a great day!!!

When asked the question do you and your family value fitness, most people would say, “Yes .” or ” Of course.” But is that really true? If someone were to follow you around for a day how much physical activity would they see going on in your life. What I find is that people really value fitness and think that it’s important but have a difficult time really following through on this particular value. Another situation I found is that parents make sure that their children are in some form of physical activity but not themselves.

Parents feel that after they take their children to soccer practice, dance lessons, gymnastics, track, Pop- Warner Football and all the rest, there is no time left for them. At the end of the day they are pooped and just want to sit down and watch their favorite television program and then go to bed. Other factors, like trying to make ends meet sometimes require people to have more than one job, which is definitely understandable. Many of the parents I talk to are in a catch 22 situation because their time is limited they have a tendency to eat more processed foods , fast food and junk foods. They watch in dismay as their waistlines balloons and the pounds creep on.

Listed below are some ways that you can align with your value of valuing fitness and taking action on this value. Taking small consistent steps to attain your desires and be in alignment with your values will help you to feel better about yourself. When you feel better about yourself you feel good overall and this effects your perspective and outlook on life.

Make time for your fitness. Look at your schedule and see where you can fit it in realistically. For me I find the very best time is first thing in the morning . I’ve tried many other times, evening, at night , midday but the best time always comes back to being when I first get up. You may be different so find what works for you.

You want to build consistency and create the habit first. Once you find that you’re in the habit, you will naturally add more time on to your time automatically.

Start small, success begets more success. The more success you experience and create the more success will happen. If you do even five minutes of exercise within the first hour of waking up that will make a difference. I recommend doing heart raising movements that require you to take in more oxygen than you would normally. Trying it five to ten minutes a day will go a long way and help get you in the fitness habit.

Psyche yourself up. Tell yourself: ” You got this”. You can do it . You’ve got the juice and you have what it takes. You have swagger and are the kind of person that walks their walk and talk their talk. You honor and love yourself.

Have a singular focus on just that one goal, to get up and move your body for 5-10 minutes. Success is more likely when you combine it with something that you are doing already. For example if you want to get your praise and worship on and your exercise put on gospel music. You can also sing your own praises making up your own songs. I find music helps inspire me to move so put your favorite music on.

Have fun. Be creative. Start now. You don’t have to wait until the morning to start your fitness routine . Immediately after reading this you can walk around your dinning room table for 5 minutes. Walk around the house and say inspiring things to yourself. Hit the floor and do some pushups if you can. It’s up to you and you can do it!

Please share this post with family and friends on social media or through word of mouth. Please also comment below on what you do to get or stay fit. We’d love to hear from you and value your feedback. Have a great day!

Starting healthy habits early will help to cut down on the amount of illnesses a child may encounter. Besides eating a healthy diet from every food group, getting proper rest and hydration and getting plenty of exercise, there is one other thing that you can start doing to keep your child healthy. Teaching your child when to wash their hands is a very important aspect to keeping them healthy.

Many people under estimate the power and effectiveness of hand washing. They don’t take into consideration that germs are not seen, they are hidden and just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they are not there. Since most germs are spread through touching, which involves the hands, keeping the hands clean goes a long way in helping children to stay healthy. Listed below are times when a both adults or children should wash their hands.

After tioleting

After playing outside

Before or after eating, handling food or feeding a child. This includes babies, even if they are only taking a bottle. You want to wash their hands and explain to them,” We are washing our hands now before we eat.” and ” Now that we’ve finished we are washing our hands after eating. You want to start now so that when they are older the pattern will be already established.

Before and after giving medicine.

After removing gloves.

After playing in water used by more than one person

At the end of the day.

I hope you’ve realized the importance of washing your hands and your children’s hands as well how if effects the quality of our health. It is a simple step that we can do that will provide a lot of benefit. So start now and here’s to a healthier you. Please share this information with your family and friends both on and off social media and online.